Secret Garden Hexie Quilt
Quilt Size: 38" x 49"
The Secret Garden Hexie Quilt is a perfect first English Paper Pieced (EPP) Quilt, and is a great project for kids and adults alike! (Note: I made a larger more “adult friendly” version of this quilt here.) I made this one with my 9 year old and 12 year old. Kids this age usually have great fine motor skills, and can learn each step well. My 6 year old helped in fits and starts and needed help at each step.
Secret Garden is a small lap or baby-sized quilt to make it really achievable. The pattern/tutorial below includes lots of colour photos and short videos to clearly explain each part of the process, with tips for beginners or those working with kids.
English Paper Piecing is great for evenings in front of the TV or fireplace, or for keeping hands busy during story time, or distance learning! Feel free to take your time. Keep prepared shapes easy to access so you can stitch in little moments. If you’re helping kids make this quilt, keep in mind that they don’t have to do each step alone. Each time my kids ran out of puff, I kept stitching on my own for a while. I noticed their motivation always increased when they felt like they were making progress. But we gave ourselves a deadline - you don’t have to! Relax, don’t rush, keep your expectations in check, and you’ll start to improve and find a good groove together.
Wanna plan out your hexies rather than sew them together at random like I have? Grab the colouring sheet in this updated post here.
What you'll need to make your Secret Garden Quilt:
English paper pieces
(176) 2” hexagons. One Big Box of 2” Hexagons will cover it or you can print and cut out the printable ones from this post.
(12) 2” half hexagons. I would just cut 6 of your hexagons in half, from point to point. These are for the top and bottom of the quilt.
Fabric
(46) fat 16ths (these are fat quarters cut into 9” x 11” rectangles) OR
(46) 10” squares (often called layer cake squares) OR
(12) fat quarters OR (176) fabric scraps at least 4 1/2” square.
57” (a little more than 1 1/2 yards) of fabric for the backing. This is actually less than customary for backing fabric, but it saves SO much fabric. I’ll show you more down the page.
(5) 2 1/2” x WOF (Width of Fabric - usually 42” - 44”) strips for binding (or 1/2 yard)
Additional Supplies
46" x 57" batting (or wadding): I use 100% cotton or a cotton/poly 80/20 blend.
Rotary cutter/mat/ruler: If you’re new to quilting, I highly recommend these tools! You’ll use them with every quilt you make. But you can easily make most of this quilt without them.
Hand-sewing needles: I use Bohin Milliners, size 9 for EPP. I use size 4 or 5 for hand quilting. You can buy a mixed pack of 3-9 to get a feel for what you like. I like my needles long and skinny.
Thread: I use Aurifil 50-weight thread for EPP and Perle cotton size 8 for hand-quilting.
Glue stick: Grab the smallest glue stick you can find from your local supermarket or office supplies store. I use Bostik 8g sticks, and I buy packs of 4 or 20. I use 3-4 per quilt.
Spray basting glue or basting pins: Ask at your local quilt shop. You won’t need these until the end, so don’t let them stop you from getting started.
Sewing machine and walking foot (for machine quilting).
Iron and ironing board.
Clover Clips: These are the little red clips in the photo to the left, and are really handy for holding shapes together if your quilt top is getting too heavy, and for holding your binding down.
Scissors: Small snips are useful for cutting thread. Larger fabric scissors will be required for cutting quilt fabric if not using a rotary cutter, wadding and backing fabric.
Metric Conversion Chart
1 inch 2.54cm
1/2 yard 45.72cm
1 yard 91.44cm
Cutting Instructions:
Rotary cutting for beginners: Put some washi tape or masking tape on the edge of your 4 1/2” line, so you can find it easily each time you cut.
Rotary cutting can be trickier than it looks, and dangerous. Make sure you you hold the rotary cutter straight, rather than on a lean, and push down hard. Hold the ruler away from the edge being cut. Move the rotary cutter slowly. Parents helping kids can stand over them like you would to teach someone a golf swing! My kids were around 10 years old when I trusted them to use a cutter safely.
A fat 16th is usually around 9” x 11“, depending on the original width of fabric, and the size of the selvedge, if included. Place the fat 16th on your cutting mat so that the 11” side is running horizontal, and the selvedge, if any, is on your right. Cut a line at 4 1/2”. Flip it around and cut at 4 1/2” again.
Cut another 4 1/2” x 9” rectangle from the remaining piece, and then cut it into (2) 4 1/2” squares.
If you’re working with kids or don’t feel comfortable with a rotary cutter, you can mark the lines in pen or pencil, and cut with scissors. Alternatively, you can cut an approximate 3/8” (1cm) seam allowance around the hexagon with scissors.
Don’t forget! Your seams or cutting lines don’t have to be perfect for EPP! The paper template keeps your fabric to the right size for you.
Hexagons: Cut (4) 4 1/4” squares from (44) fat 16ths. You should have (176) 4 1/2” squares in total.
Half hexagons: Cut (6) 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” rectangles from (2) fat 16ths. If you prefer, you can mix these up, and cut 3 hexagons from some of your fat 16ths, and 2 half hexagons. You need 12 rectangles in total.
